The joy of cooking. Older versions at least teach you everything from how to plan a dinner party to how to butcher a squirrel.
(The squirrel is omitted from later editions, but it still does explain cuts of beef, pork, etc.)
It's a really excellent reference.
I have the edition from 1942x it has war ration recipes (like desserts with less sugar, or butter), as well as substitutes for things that are rationed. And my grandmother’s notes. So pretty awesome.
Double down on the fat and flavor. I've been diabetic my whole life so I tend to avoid sweets. So when I do enjoy them it's gonna be the most intense, rich, flavorful bite ever. Like, so rich you can't eat any more.
Chocolate fudge cones to mind. I'm also partial to cheesecakes.
My wife’s grandfather was a cook in the Army in 1946. I found the cookbooks he was issued and they were so direct. Short, clearly written instructions. Everything was relatable to a soldier who may or may not have any culinary skills. Like measuring was described as fill half of your issued camp mug. My favorite was the section on sandwiches which included instructions to not serve egg or pork sandwiches in a hot climate.
Nice! Mine is one from the 60s and it has a lot of jelly molds (and also rice molds? Which often make a nice pilaf, but what was up with sticking everything in a mold?)
That's a great one put out by Cook's Illustrated. They have a similar book called "The New Best Recipe Cookbook" that I like better. It covers all of the basics like TJoC, but goes into each recipe in more depth. They're both by the folks at America's Test Kitchen, and the best recipe book thoroughly tests each recipe. They take old and new recipes and test to see what works and what doesn't. It's informative as it breaks down why things are done, and provides variations of the recipe to suit other preferences. I have to admit that the history of the recipe is often fascinating to me.
I love Cook's Illustrated and Americas test Kitchen.
They've never failed me. From chicken tacos to sunshine carrots, they are real nerds about their food.
It was years ago, but I wonder if they still rate Hunts tomatoes as the best canned tomatoes on the market
Love them both, ATK for more of the theory side of why things work - but find that it can go a bit overboard to achieve the best flavour for the amount of effort. Still worth it though.
I find Cook's illustrated is a better balance of effort/time/flavour for me these days.
Haha! I don't think the squirrel is in the version my mom gave to me in 1997.
I love that section on planning a dinner party. I think that's the section where the reader is given permission to serve a store/bakery made dessert. Something about if a guest asks if you made the dessert yourself, an appropriate response would be, "I made the dessert possible."
I heard about that on good eats, and I suspect many others did too. I happened to find an old version of Joy in a used bookstore, and it did include the directions on skinning a squirrel. I was really tempted to buy it, but didn't have space for a duplicate copy at the time. I did however take a picture of that page for proof that it exists.
Fanny Farmer is also a really good one. I have one from around 1960 that has all those same things and I also bought a newer one updated in the 2000's that also omits the squirrels etc
My grand mother gave me a copy of Joy of Cooking when I moved out. It was her’s with all her notes she had made for herself. It has been my faithful cook books since then.
Now with the internet being easier access I don’t use it as much, because substitutions are a quick google search. But even then I still pull the book out at least once a month.
Just checked my 2006 edition. It has squirrel (among other small game) in it with butchering instructions on pages 524-25. They suggest to prepare stuff as you would chicken.
There are millions of squirrels in the USA, and they're tasty. No reason to not eat them. There's not a huge hunting market like there was for bison in the late 1800s so they're a very safe species. Hunting is ethical and sustainable in the modern world. And it's been a long held practice for humans, literally since the dawn of man kind, to hunt and forage for food. If you want to eat squirrels there is no ethical dilemma.
They put the squirrel back in. By popular demand. My copy is from 1995 and it has the squirrel with the how-to-skin diagram and the fashionable boots. Page 515.
I’ve never cooked squirrel and I think I’ve learned a lot more from Kenji.
I have a copy of the really old one that has squirrel, brains, lungs, bear etc in it. I love it. I wouldn't eat brains but in an apocalyptic situation it might be handy
This is how I learned my classic recipes for roasting meats, making stocks and sauces, and all the fun substitution suggestions. It’s been consistently well researched and updated by the family; I trust it.
His old and new videos on YouTube are priceless.
He really keeps things simple, and really helps alleviate any "pressure" people feel when trying to follow a recipe.
Making you feel like it's not sooo serious.
I distinctly remember him bringing out bagged gnocchi and being like yeah I bought premade gnocchi, what do you want? It's a good shortcut.
That kind of no pretension approach while still delivering high level results is what everyone needs.
I sort of merged this with Kenji Lopez "the food lab" to become a bit of an "intuitive cook".
It had a lot of growing pains (like 2 years) but my wife and family are constantly amazed at what I can seemingly 'randomly" throw together and have it taste restaurant quality or better.
Also being able to eye ball ingredients instead of measuring every little thing saves so much time and makes cooking feel like less of a hassle. And knowing how to actually "season to taste" especially with knowing when to add acid instead of salt (something I would have done a lot in the past) has made cooking a simple joy for me.
Kenji's new book, The Wok is also spectacular in most things Thai related. We're loving the Da Dan Noodles, Drunken Noodles and fried rice. I personally have upped my game so much I feel comfortable knowing what to grab in the Asian grocery stores (well with a list at least). It also gives plenty of alternative ingredients which makes it approachable. Our library had it and I may have dabbled soy sauce on a couple pages when I closed the lid, hopefully that subtly tells people it's a book that'll get used
Is there any other cookbook, to continue the learning, that would be a good next option after finishing SFAH?
I’ve heard good things about Sohla’s new book. Samin has written the foreword for it and is full of praises for the book.
Sohla'a new cookbook is incredible, each chapter is around a technique or ingredient, and offer suggestions/variations. The chapters on poaching and steaming were a revelation for me!
I used an Indian housewives recipe book over a 100 traditional recipes by Laxmi Khurana, a fully comprehensive guide to indian cooking. Its a fantastic foundation and I sometimes catch my mum looking at it too and she's a wonderful cook.
I'll add the Cook's Illustrated cookbook as well since there's quite a bit of overlap. The ATK people really know how to make great recipes at various levels.
Great answer. I received this cookbook as a gift, and I highly recommend it.
My MIL doesn't eat gluten, and she adores the gluten-free America's Test Kitchen cookbook.
This was my first cookbook when I moved out at 17 to go to college. I lived in a two bedroom/four person dorm room with a small kitchen and knew very little about cooking. My friends thought I was a kitchen genius because I made clam chowder. Not hard with the basic recipe from this book.
Also got mine for a wedding gift! Luckily I got to keep it in the split yay! Except mine doesn’t have a recipe for the confection Divinity in it, like my mom’s book had.
This one is great for learning to cook, and then great for reference. This is where I look now to find out “How long to I cook this and at what temperature?” type questions.
This is the first cookbook I give to new cooks. I still have mine that my mom gave me when I was little. It’s ragged and falling apart. It’s been through it lol
I have an interesting Non-cookbook. The Flavor Bible. It's not quite a cookbook, but it gives you tons of very nice flavor pairings that could go into different meals or fit into the regional pallete you might be going for plus a few words of advice and background behind it
Taste of home, Betty Crocker
Eta The most practical cookbook I personally own is the one my mom made for me. A giant 4” or so 3-ring binder full of all of the recipes she makes. One of my most prized possessions.
The Betty Crocker one is how I learned to cook most things. I still use a lot of the base recipes from there and just change up seasonings when I want something more unique.
Neither of my parents particularly cooked, but my wife and I are starting a fav. Cookbook we hope to copy for our kids some day as well. We love cooking and had too many instructions of not being able to refund favorite recipes online- so we write them down with our own notes now. And categorize them through labels such as "easy quick, easy long, hard quick, hard long" etc.
There is no original experience huh. We had that same cookbook growing up and now I have the big binder. Though I update my moms recipes they are still inspiration for a lot of what I cook
Madhur Jaffrey’s World of the East Vegetarian Cooking is my most used cookbook of all time. It provides accessible delicious recipes for common foods from all over west, south, and east Asia, especially India. Can’t recommend it enough.
I saw him on "The Chew" years ago, right after this came out. The host said "BUY THIS BOOK!" I did. Changed my life. I will never cook steaks or pork chops any other way. I just love his approach and his "busting" of common cooking myths.
I have given it as a gift a few times, too.
The good ol' Joy of Cooking is pretty much the only print cookbook I actually use. It has a plethora of recipes, excellent descriptions of techniques and why we use them plus a ton of other great info.
I do like to read cookbooks from time to time but will get them from the library. I find most aren't worth buying especially in the internet age.
Madame Wong's Long Life Chinese Cookbook. Long out of print, but you can still get used copies online. Easy Chinese recipes, adjusted for American tastes and ingredients. It's what I learned on.
My parents had an electric wok back in the day and it came with Madame Wong‘s cookbook. The directions were for the electric wok. It’s one of my most loved cookbooks and I really enjoy that I can get authentic ingredients much easier now.
My mom’s favorite when I was a kid! This morning, I told my partner I was craving the chicken salad from this book. The crunchy rice noodles - so good.
I use my Red Plaid cookbook the most. Better Homes and Gardens classic red plaid cookbook. Mostly for thr basic dessert recipes like apple crisp, pineapple upside down cake, and cookies.
The Joy of Cooking is great. But here’s the funny thing about it. Irma Rombauer, the original author, was known to be a godawful cook. My family was friends with her family, and they told stories about how bad she was. Like the kind of person who would add salt instead of sugar, was super impatient and wouldn’t let yeasted doughs rise, etc.
Might be too late to be seen, but since you asked for non-American:
* "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child
* "Essentials of Italian Cooking" by Marcela Hazan
* "The Cuisines of Mexico" by Diana Kennedy
* "The Key to Chinese Cooking" by Irene Kuo
* "Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art" by Tsuji Shizuo
These are classics for a reason. They're basically the books that introduced the English-speaking world to these cuisines--and because of that, they all start at the basics and do a *great* job of breaking down techniques. If you want "practical", these are my recs for these five cuisines
New cookbooks come out that are flashy and trendy or whatever, but these are the ones that still remain relevant after all these years. And most of them, you should be able to order online pretty reasonably
(and as a Japanese person, I can personally attest to how phenomenal Tsuji is. He's respected on both sides of the ocean, truly a master at not just cooking but *teaching* how to cook)
I live on [woks of life](https://thewoksoflife.com/), [just one cookbook](https://www.justonecookbook.com/), [recipe tin eats](https://www.recipetineats.com/), [tea for turmeric](https://www.teaforturmeric.com/), and [rick bayless](https://www.rickbayless.com/). I don’t use cookbooks, the internet is my cookbook.
I have so many cookbooks. If you took them away one by one in the end it’d be Bittman I’d be hanging onto like a life raft. Joy would be a strong (sentimental) second.
This will probably get buried, but in addition Joy (classic), and some other already mentioned websites and magazines, the book that changed literally everything for me was Pok Pok by Andy Ricker. It’s the guide to Northern Thai cooking, is meticulous in its instructions, and introduced me to techniques and ingredients that were very foreign to me. It changed my cooking. After a steep learning curve (which the author is very upfront about), my ability to make seriously good Southeast Asian cuisine is something I’m proud of. The techniques, naturally, cross over into Laotian, Cambodian, Burmese, and many other regional cuisines. I can’t recommend this one enough.
(His other two books are both cool. The one about noodles is more useful than the one about bar food, but both are good and will certainly challenge a traditional western cook).
I have one I got at a yard sale decades ago when I was moving out on my own. I refer to it often for how to make pancakes, what to do with certain foods, etc.
*Cooking: 600 Recipes, 1500 Photographs, One Kitchen Education* by James Peterson (2007, Ten Speed Press). James Beard Award for Cookbooks: General Cooking. I think Peterson is better at teaching technique than Bittman or Joy of Cooking. YMMV.
One Pan, Two Plates. It's vegetarian, but easy enough to add meat to most of the recipes if you're omnivorous (I'm omni, but I don't miss the meat when I'm eating vegetarian food this delicious). It's a beautifully organized book with the recipes first organized by type (soups and stews, egg dishes, vegetable-based dishes, grains and beans, pastas, and pizzas and tarts) and in the back is an index of dishes by season. There's a good spread of eastern and western tastes. The author also suggests a beverage pairing for each meal.
The Fannie Farmer cookbook and the Joy Of Cooking are basically the first two cookbooks I owned and are great, no-nonsense guides to cooking just about anything. Lately one of my favorites is the New York Times Cooking No-Recipes Recipes, and I think that one is great for experienced cooks who are already comfortable in the kitchen.
Cooks illustrated New Best Recipe. I love how they have building block recipes for things like stir fry and they explain all the different ways they tried to make a recipe and why this recipe works best.
Everyday Mexican by Rick Bayless
Quick & Easy Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey
90% of the cookbook recipes that I make regularly come from either of these
Rick Bayless seems like the type of guy I would never want to meet. He seems so wholesome on the exterior, but I always have this feeling that it’s a facade. I love watching his videos though.
“Dinner” by Nagi Maehashi from [Recipe Tin Eats](https://www.recipetineats.com/cookbook/)
Great easy to follow recipes with QR codes to take you to a video.
The website is great but it’s nice to have a book to use as well.
How to cook everything by mark bittman or Joy of Cooking. Both are well written, easy to follow and highly instructional for new cooks and experienced cooks alike.
So recently I’ve been trying to cook from scratch more and go back to basics. I’ve been using Better Home and Gardens, Betty Crocker (both the 1950s picture book and a newer version, Joy of Cooking and Salt Fat Acid Heat.
I’m realizing I can probably get rid of the rest of my other random cookbooks, yet I still want to BUY The Food Lab and Cook This Book.
The Joy of Cooking, hands down. I had an early printing of it, and it was damaged along with least 100 cookbooks that I had in storage. I also had an original printing of the New York Times Cookbook, which was well loved by my mother. The dog-eared pages and stains made it extra special since it was so well used.
To refresh my memory on a simple dish I haven’t made in a while, I use the Better Homes and Garden from 1976. Usually it to check I am not leaving out a critical ingredient or switching when to use baking soda or baking powder type stuff.
Not a cookbook but a "cooking book". Especially if you're starting out. Mine is *The Kitchen Companion* by Polly Klingerman, but I'm sure it's out of print.
Look for something with few recipes but info on tools and their use, information on ingredients and substitutions, and techniques.
When I lived in Amsterdam a million years and had a tiny kitchen with only a stove top. No oven, I fell in love with Charmaine Solomon's [The Complete Asian Cookbook](https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-complete-asian-cookbook_charmaine-solomon/286956/item/162548/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_everything_else_customer_acquisition&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=593719077582&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjws560BhCuARIsAHMqE0EV5lYdD0PAVUq7spuJUg7CpaMQ-DK74FSp7nJroGTXGqs8AIBDGfoaAh4CEALw_wcB#idiq=162548&edition=2893852). It had recipes from every country in east and south Asia. I still have the book and still use many of the recipes. Also, [this old book](https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/settlement-cookbook-1940-the-way-to-a-mans-heart/13878508/?resultid=3125bdba-2678-4815-afb5-57054795720d#isbn=B000UD44NG&edition=19390544) if you can find it. Just a truly great book for basic fare and the basis for many many recipes. Many years ago on a whim, I anonymously sent a copy of the last one to Daniel Rose.
Agree with most of these. My favorite is Mastering the art of French cooking because Julia child has a great voice in discussing food. But anyone who's recipes you get good results from is your best instructor. I've never loved the results from any Mario batali recipes. So I don't use them anymore. Nigella Lawson is such a great home cook and so versatile and also her discussion of a dish is both fun and passionate
Zahav by Michael Solomonov
I have pretty bad ADHD that makes all cooking a challenge, yet somehow I've never messed up a recipe from this book. I've served people with every kind of diet out of this book and they love it every time (vegan/vegetarian, non-dairy, low carb/keto, etc.).
Baked to Perfection by Katarina Cermelj.
I got diagnosed with celiac disease a few years ago so I had to quit eating gluten. Most gluten free cookbooks seem to be centered on “healthy” recipes rather than just good food. This one is just damn good baked goods, both sweet and savory. She’s a chemist who applies the methods and knowledge to baking and filled the book with the science of gluten free baking, because sometimes it’s pretty different from gluten baking. It’s an *amazing* book and I use the fuck out of it.
Australian here. Stephanie Alexander’s The Cook’s Companion is amazing. It breaks recipes into ingredient categories. Based on classical French technique, but there is a wide variety of recipes from basics through to impress the hell out of your friends.
"How to Cook without a Book" By Pamela Anderson. FANTASTIC read, plenty of recipes, but really highlights the formulas used to make them work. Follow the formulas, and you can experiment to your heart's content.
I've learned quicker and easier ways to cook just about everything and on how to cook days ahead at a time. It is a book meant to be memorized and internalized.
It's such a an under utilized resource for some, one random top was to rinse Asian wide noodles after cooking to release the starch. That one tip is what many books missed and it's tough to go back
Best cookbook I have is ATK. All their recipes are tested and yummy. I’ve only made one recipe that was blah. Their chicken & dumplings and lasagna are the best I’ve every eaten.
Five Roses Cookbook has been a standard in Canadian Kitchens for over 100 years. Of course a lot of baking being a flour company, but many other recipes and techniques.
"Help, My Apartment Has a Kitchen" by Kevin & Nancy Mills.
Written from a very American standpoint, but has non-standard foods in there as well. Targeted at absolute beginners, which should be obvious from the name. Sprinkled throughout are little "Mom Tips" for what cut of meat to buy for a dish, or how to know when something is done.
Honestly, it’s one I put together for myself with recipes I and my family have made over the years that have turned out well.
BUT of the ones that I bought or were gifted, River Road is likely my fave. I have a couple nerdy ones - recipes from video game type stuff - and a couple Irish pub cookbooks. But river road is the best of them.
RecipeTin Eats, Dinner. Every recipe is doable by me and I am such a bad cook. Most of the recipes are free on-line too. [https://www.recipetineats.com/cookbook/](https://www.recipetineats.com/cookbook/)
For good baseline technique and recipes that focus on flavor building I always recommend “Ruhlman’s Twenty.” I still refer to his chicken stock recipe every time I make it.
Delia Smith’s ‘How To Cook’. It starts at basics, like boiling an egg, to cakes, full meals, and how to cook a British roast dinner. I’ve had my copy since the 80s (and I think it’s actually from the late 70s) but I still use it.
Sift by Nicola Lamb. I noticed all my favourite bakeries tagging her in their posts - - she was THE common denominator for every great bakery - - and i found out she was like a baking consultant. I think bakeries go to her and say 'ok but how do i make my cookies more chewy /pastry more flaky/ whatever' and she explains how.
Thats what half the book is, explaining how say gluten and water orr eggs and sugar interact under different circumstances for different effects. Teach a man to fish... The other half is recipes, but by the end you feel you can write your own.
Only cookbook ive ever intentionally bought aside from Larousse Gastronomique, the cooking (well certainly Western European cooking) bible which explains every (again certainly almost every w Eur.) recipe and technique ever basically. I got a Kindle version bc it's searchable.
*On Food and Cooking: the Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold Mcgee* taught me so much about food, that it changed how I cook, although it is not technically a cook book.
I like the recipetin eats cookbook. I'm Australian so I'm not sure if that counts as different from your American standard fare. It has some English, french and Italian as well as Mexican, Chinese and Vietnamese. And some really excellent salads
Indian-ish for accessible Indian recipes, by Priya Krishna. It's meant to be for people who are new to cooking Indian food and only have a typical Western grocery store.
[Mom's Cookbook](https://www.reddit.com/u/CannedDuck1906/s/fbgrvOuUif)
My Mom's "My Recipe Collection: A Recipe Organizer from Better Homes and Gardens."
It has every single recipe she used, with hand-written notes. It also has the original hand-written family recipes.
She passed 12 years ago, and I was finally able to bring it home from my Dad and stepmother last month.
The joy of cooking. Older versions at least teach you everything from how to plan a dinner party to how to butcher a squirrel. (The squirrel is omitted from later editions, but it still does explain cuts of beef, pork, etc.) It's a really excellent reference.
I have the edition from 1942x it has war ration recipes (like desserts with less sugar, or butter), as well as substitutes for things that are rationed. And my grandmother’s notes. So pretty awesome.
As a dessert maniac who tries to be healthy, I would love some dessert recipes with less sugar even today.
Double down on the fat and flavor. I've been diabetic my whole life so I tend to avoid sweets. So when I do enjoy them it's gonna be the most intense, rich, flavorful bite ever. Like, so rich you can't eat any more. Chocolate fudge cones to mind. I'm also partial to cheesecakes.
I have a cookbook from the Navy from the time. It had the recipes of what is served to the enlisted va officers.
My wife’s grandfather was a cook in the Army in 1946. I found the cookbooks he was issued and they were so direct. Short, clearly written instructions. Everything was relatable to a soldier who may or may not have any culinary skills. Like measuring was described as fill half of your issued camp mug. My favorite was the section on sandwiches which included instructions to not serve egg or pork sandwiches in a hot climate.
Nice! Mine is one from the 60s and it has a lot of jelly molds (and also rice molds? Which often make a nice pilaf, but what was up with sticking everything in a mold?)
That's a great one put out by Cook's Illustrated. They have a similar book called "The New Best Recipe Cookbook" that I like better. It covers all of the basics like TJoC, but goes into each recipe in more depth. They're both by the folks at America's Test Kitchen, and the best recipe book thoroughly tests each recipe. They take old and new recipes and test to see what works and what doesn't. It's informative as it breaks down why things are done, and provides variations of the recipe to suit other preferences. I have to admit that the history of the recipe is often fascinating to me.
I love Cook's Illustrated and Americas test Kitchen. They've never failed me. From chicken tacos to sunshine carrots, they are real nerds about their food. It was years ago, but I wonder if they still rate Hunts tomatoes as the best canned tomatoes on the market
Love them both, ATK for more of the theory side of why things work - but find that it can go a bit overboard to achieve the best flavour for the amount of effort. Still worth it though. I find Cook's illustrated is a better balance of effort/time/flavour for me these days.
I love this one too; just used it this week! And the Caesar salad dressing is *chefs kiss*
Love their stuff, the best of art and science 🖖
Haha! I don't think the squirrel is in the version my mom gave to me in 1997. I love that section on planning a dinner party. I think that's the section where the reader is given permission to serve a store/bakery made dessert. Something about if a guest asks if you made the dessert yourself, an appropriate response would be, "I made the dessert possible."
I heard about that on good eats, and I suspect many others did too. I happened to find an old version of Joy in a used bookstore, and it did include the directions on skinning a squirrel. I was really tempted to buy it, but didn't have space for a duplicate copy at the time. I did however take a picture of that page for proof that it exists.
Fanny Farmer is also a really good one. I have one from around 1960 that has all those same things and I also bought a newer one updated in the 2000's that also omits the squirrels etc
I have the Fanny Farmer Baking book. It’s an excellent resource. Waiting now for a sale on Erin McDowell.
My grand mother gave me a copy of Joy of Cooking when I moved out. It was her’s with all her notes she had made for herself. It has been my faithful cook books since then. Now with the internet being easier access I don’t use it as much, because substitutions are a quick google search. But even then I still pull the book out at least once a month.
Just checked my 2006 edition. It has squirrel (among other small game) in it with butchering instructions on pages 524-25. They suggest to prepare stuff as you would chicken.
Came here to say this. I have that same book! (The one with the squirrel 🐿️)
I’m not advocating killing and eating squirrels. I just like the historical periodness of it.
There are millions of squirrels in the USA, and they're tasty. No reason to not eat them. There's not a huge hunting market like there was for bison in the late 1800s so they're a very safe species. Hunting is ethical and sustainable in the modern world. And it's been a long held practice for humans, literally since the dawn of man kind, to hunt and forage for food. If you want to eat squirrels there is no ethical dilemma.
I met a man who's house burned down because squirrels chewed up his wiring. So happy hunting!!
They are annoying to clean
We used recipes from the joy of cooking in my culinary classes in highschool and they always turned out really good
They put the squirrel back in. By popular demand. My copy is from 1995 and it has the squirrel with the how-to-skin diagram and the fashionable boots. Page 515. I’ve never cooked squirrel and I think I’ve learned a lot more from Kenji.
You have the 1975 Sixth edition. They took it out, the diagram is no longer there in the 2019 Ninth edition.
Came here to write exactly that. Except for the squirrel part. Squirrels are high in cholesterol, anyway.
I can’t think of any other single resource that is as knowledgeable and helpful as the joy of cooking. Can teach you to make just about anything
They have some tips on working with raccoon too, if I recall.
My mom’s version has instructions on how to make ice cubes.
I have a copy of the really old one that has squirrel, brains, lungs, bear etc in it. I love it. I wouldn't eat brains but in an apocalyptic situation it might be handy
Don't eat squirrel brains. It's linked to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
I have my grandmothers. It has turtle and raccoon too!
My mom's old version has instructions for cooking whale, brains, calf lungs, bear, raccoons, muskrats...
This is how I learned my classic recipes for roasting meats, making stocks and sauces, and all the fun substitution suggestions. It’s been consistently well researched and updated by the family; I trust it.
Overall, it’s How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. But Dinner by Melissa Clark gets the most use in my house.
Dinner is the book that got me into cooking. My copy is marked up and tattered but I just found a new recipe in it this week
I have How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. Not because I'm vegetarian, but I think vegetables, herbs and spices are fundamental.
+1 for Dinner by Melissa Clark! I have so many recipes on rotation from this cookbook.
I love Melissa Clark! I'll have to pick this up.
How to Cook Everything.
The really great part is how he shows variations.
Who’s the author please?
Mark Bittman
Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques. Always good for a refresher. Creativity is easy if you have the fundamentals down.
He has a TikTok account and it is so precious
His TikTok got me to make my own butter and I love him for it.
His old and new videos on YouTube are priceless. He really keeps things simple, and really helps alleviate any "pressure" people feel when trying to follow a recipe. Making you feel like it's not sooo serious.
I distinctly remember him bringing out bagged gnocchi and being like yeah I bought premade gnocchi, what do you want? It's a good shortcut. That kind of no pretension approach while still delivering high level results is what everyone needs.
Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat, that booked changed the game for me and my home cooking.
This is the answer! It's the "teach a man to fish" cookbook
I sort of merged this with Kenji Lopez "the food lab" to become a bit of an "intuitive cook". It had a lot of growing pains (like 2 years) but my wife and family are constantly amazed at what I can seemingly 'randomly" throw together and have it taste restaurant quality or better. Also being able to eye ball ingredients instead of measuring every little thing saves so much time and makes cooking feel like less of a hassle. And knowing how to actually "season to taste" especially with knowing when to add acid instead of salt (something I would have done a lot in the past) has made cooking a simple joy for me.
Kenji's new book, The Wok is also spectacular in most things Thai related. We're loving the Da Dan Noodles, Drunken Noodles and fried rice. I personally have upped my game so much I feel comfortable knowing what to grab in the Asian grocery stores (well with a list at least). It also gives plenty of alternative ingredients which makes it approachable. Our library had it and I may have dabbled soy sauce on a couple pages when I closed the lid, hopefully that subtly tells people it's a book that'll get used
Yep. Very foundational to creative cooking while still being a concise, almost textbook type educational tool for new cooks.
This was the book that really helped things ‘click’ for me.
Is there any other cookbook, to continue the learning, that would be a good next option after finishing SFAH? I’ve heard good things about Sohla’s new book. Samin has written the foreword for it and is full of praises for the book.
Sohla'a new cookbook is incredible, each chapter is around a technique or ingredient, and offer suggestions/variations. The chapters on poaching and steaming were a revelation for me!
Yes! Second this
Flavor theory. It's strange how many cooks do not know how important that is.
I loved this on Netflix. I'll have to check out the book
I used an Indian housewives recipe book over a 100 traditional recipes by Laxmi Khurana, a fully comprehensive guide to indian cooking. Its a fantastic foundation and I sometimes catch my mum looking at it too and she's a wonderful cook.
This is on my list to get! I love a well researched culinary book.
America’s Test Kitchen cookbook. They explain the why behind a recipe and they have loads of decent recipes you can do on a weeknight
I'll add the Cook's Illustrated cookbook as well since there's quite a bit of overlap. The ATK people really know how to make great recipes at various levels.
This is my answer as well!
Great answer. I received this cookbook as a gift, and I highly recommend it. My MIL doesn't eat gluten, and she adores the gluten-free America's Test Kitchen cookbook.
This. And I’ve had the Joy of Cooking for 3 decades
Better Homes and Gardens for lifetime usefulness
I love my Better Homes and Gardens red checkered cookbook for basic recipes. If I need to make a classic quiche or cake with frosting, it's my go to.
This was my first cookbook when I moved out at 17 to go to college. I lived in a two bedroom/four person dorm room with a small kitchen and knew very little about cooking. My friends thought I was a kitchen genius because I made clam chowder. Not hard with the basic recipe from this book.
Their recipes are really well tested and easy to make.
Yep got this for a wedding gift, been using it for 25 years! Best banana bread recipe in there 🙂
Also got mine for a wedding gift! Luckily I got to keep it in the split yay! Except mine doesn’t have a recipe for the confection Divinity in it, like my mom’s book had.
That’s the book I learned to cook from.
Me too, my sisters gift to me 32 years ago
This one is great for learning to cook, and then great for reference. This is where I look now to find out “How long to I cook this and at what temperature?” type questions.
The chicken salad in this cookbook with tarragon and cucumber is the absolute best
This is the first cookbook I give to new cooks. I still have mine that my mom gave me when I was little. It’s ragged and falling apart. It’s been through it lol
I have one of these that’s extremely old, one that’s relatively new and weird 80s version that loves margarine
I have an interesting Non-cookbook. The Flavor Bible. It's not quite a cookbook, but it gives you tons of very nice flavor pairings that could go into different meals or fit into the regional pallete you might be going for plus a few words of advice and background behind it
This is a good reference book if you do a lot of no-recipe cooking or are comfortable switching out certain ingredients. I use this book so much
Taste of home, Betty Crocker Eta The most practical cookbook I personally own is the one my mom made for me. A giant 4” or so 3-ring binder full of all of the recipes she makes. One of my most prized possessions.
The Betty Crocker one is how I learned to cook most things. I still use a lot of the base recipes from there and just change up seasonings when I want something more unique.
Neither of my parents particularly cooked, but my wife and I are starting a fav. Cookbook we hope to copy for our kids some day as well. We love cooking and had too many instructions of not being able to refund favorite recipes online- so we write them down with our own notes now. And categorize them through labels such as "easy quick, easy long, hard quick, hard long" etc.
There is no original experience huh. We had that same cookbook growing up and now I have the big binder. Though I update my moms recipes they are still inspiration for a lot of what I cook
"I Dream of Dinner" by Ali Slagle. Probably the one I use the most. Not a reference cookbook, just lots of easy dinners.
Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem has a lot of bangers.
Madhur Jaffrey’s World of the East Vegetarian Cooking is my most used cookbook of all time. It provides accessible delicious recipes for common foods from all over west, south, and east Asia, especially India. Can’t recommend it enough.
It’s an amazing cookbook and I have destroyed my paperback copy
Seconded! I have had this book for a decade now and probably use it at least once a week
FOOD LAB by lopez-alt
Surprised this isn’t higher.
This is *the* cook book I recommend to everyone. It not only contains recipes, but it essentially teaches you how to be a great cook
I saw him on "The Chew" years ago, right after this came out. The host said "BUY THIS BOOK!" I did. Changed my life. I will never cook steaks or pork chops any other way. I just love his approach and his "busting" of common cooking myths. I have given it as a gift a few times, too.
Great book. I bought Wok too for Asian cuisine.
The good ol' Joy of Cooking is pretty much the only print cookbook I actually use. It has a plethora of recipes, excellent descriptions of techniques and why we use them plus a ton of other great info. I do like to read cookbooks from time to time but will get them from the library. I find most aren't worth buying especially in the internet age.
Madame Wong's Long Life Chinese Cookbook. Long out of print, but you can still get used copies online. Easy Chinese recipes, adjusted for American tastes and ingredients. It's what I learned on.
My parents had an electric wok back in the day and it came with Madame Wong‘s cookbook. The directions were for the electric wok. It’s one of my most loved cookbooks and I really enjoy that I can get authentic ingredients much easier now.
This is also available free online at [archive.org](http://archive.org)
My mom’s favorite when I was a kid! This morning, I told my partner I was craving the chicken salad from this book. The crunchy rice noodles - so good.
I use my Red Plaid cookbook the most. Better Homes and Gardens classic red plaid cookbook. Mostly for thr basic dessert recipes like apple crisp, pineapple upside down cake, and cookies.
The Joy of Cooking is great. But here’s the funny thing about it. Irma Rombauer, the original author, was known to be a godawful cook. My family was friends with her family, and they told stories about how bad she was. Like the kind of person who would add salt instead of sugar, was super impatient and wouldn’t let yeasted doughs rise, etc.
Might be too late to be seen, but since you asked for non-American: * "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child * "Essentials of Italian Cooking" by Marcela Hazan * "The Cuisines of Mexico" by Diana Kennedy * "The Key to Chinese Cooking" by Irene Kuo * "Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art" by Tsuji Shizuo These are classics for a reason. They're basically the books that introduced the English-speaking world to these cuisines--and because of that, they all start at the basics and do a *great* job of breaking down techniques. If you want "practical", these are my recs for these five cuisines New cookbooks come out that are flashy and trendy or whatever, but these are the ones that still remain relevant after all these years. And most of them, you should be able to order online pretty reasonably (and as a Japanese person, I can personally attest to how phenomenal Tsuji is. He's respected on both sides of the ocean, truly a master at not just cooking but *teaching* how to cook)
I live on [woks of life](https://thewoksoflife.com/), [just one cookbook](https://www.justonecookbook.com/), [recipe tin eats](https://www.recipetineats.com/), [tea for turmeric](https://www.teaforturmeric.com/), and [rick bayless](https://www.rickbayless.com/). I don’t use cookbooks, the internet is my cookbook.
Add Jubilee to that and I think that's a perfect set.
Indian-ish by Priya Krishna. Easy to follow recipes using ingredients you can find at almost any supermarket.
I’ll have to check this out, I love her.
Alton Brown’s “I’m just here for the food”
The best for actually understanding how each recipe works
Best all around cookbook is Joy of Cooking.
I have so many cookbooks. If you took them away one by one in the end it’d be Bittman I’d be hanging onto like a life raft. Joy would be a strong (sentimental) second.
Southern Living from back in 1979, wedding present. Dumped the husband kept the book. My "go to".
This will probably get buried, but in addition Joy (classic), and some other already mentioned websites and magazines, the book that changed literally everything for me was Pok Pok by Andy Ricker. It’s the guide to Northern Thai cooking, is meticulous in its instructions, and introduced me to techniques and ingredients that were very foreign to me. It changed my cooking. After a steep learning curve (which the author is very upfront about), my ability to make seriously good Southeast Asian cuisine is something I’m proud of. The techniques, naturally, cross over into Laotian, Cambodian, Burmese, and many other regional cuisines. I can’t recommend this one enough. (His other two books are both cool. The one about noodles is more useful than the one about bar food, but both are good and will certainly challenge a traditional western cook).
Fanny Farmer. Hands down.
Agreed, I have one from 1960ish and another newer one from the 2000's. It is my go to. I have lots of others but that is my staple.
I have one I got at a yard sale decades ago when I was moving out on my own. I refer to it often for how to make pancakes, what to do with certain foods, etc.
*Cooking: 600 Recipes, 1500 Photographs, One Kitchen Education* by James Peterson (2007, Ten Speed Press). James Beard Award for Cookbooks: General Cooking. I think Peterson is better at teaching technique than Bittman or Joy of Cooking. YMMV.
One Pan, Two Plates. It's vegetarian, but easy enough to add meat to most of the recipes if you're omnivorous (I'm omni, but I don't miss the meat when I'm eating vegetarian food this delicious). It's a beautifully organized book with the recipes first organized by type (soups and stews, egg dishes, vegetable-based dishes, grains and beans, pastas, and pizzas and tarts) and in the back is an index of dishes by season. There's a good spread of eastern and western tastes. The author also suggests a beverage pairing for each meal.
The Fannie Farmer cookbook and the Joy Of Cooking are basically the first two cookbooks I owned and are great, no-nonsense guides to cooking just about anything. Lately one of my favorites is the New York Times Cooking No-Recipes Recipes, and I think that one is great for experienced cooks who are already comfortable in the kitchen.
The Complete America’s Test Kitchen and America’s Test Kitchen Cooking for Two cookbooks have both never failed me.
Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler. Fascinating read that goes beyond recipes and teaches you how to use all kinds of leftover bits.
This seems like an interesting concept for sure. Eliminating food waste is definitely an interest, so I may have to check this out.
The serious eats website.
Or, if you want a book with even more explanations than serious eats, get The Food Lab or The Wok by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt.
[https://www.amazon.com/Better-Homes-Gardens-Cook-Book/dp/1957317000](https://www.amazon.com/Better-Homes-Gardens-Cook-Book/dp/1957317000)
My mom had one from the 1960s. I got mine around 2010.
Cooks illustrated New Best Recipe. I love how they have building block recipes for things like stir fry and they explain all the different ways they tried to make a recipe and why this recipe works best.
Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast is the number 1 cookbook that I grab over any other. Best resource for beginner bread and dough making out there.
Recipe Tin Eats
Second this one!
I always feel in good hands with anything from Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver, Nigel Slater, and Ina Garten.
Anyone would be in good hands with Nigella.
Everyday Mexican by Rick Bayless Quick & Easy Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey 90% of the cookbook recipes that I make regularly come from either of these
Rick Bayless seems like the type of guy I would never want to meet. He seems so wholesome on the exterior, but I always have this feeling that it’s a facade. I love watching his videos though.
“Dinner” by Nagi Maehashi from [Recipe Tin Eats](https://www.recipetineats.com/cookbook/) Great easy to follow recipes with QR codes to take you to a video. The website is great but it’s nice to have a book to use as well.
NYT Cooking
How to cook everything by mark bittman or Joy of Cooking. Both are well written, easy to follow and highly instructional for new cooks and experienced cooks alike.
So recently I’ve been trying to cook from scratch more and go back to basics. I’ve been using Better Home and Gardens, Betty Crocker (both the 1950s picture book and a newer version, Joy of Cooking and Salt Fat Acid Heat. I’m realizing I can probably get rid of the rest of my other random cookbooks, yet I still want to BUY The Food Lab and Cook This Book.
Ratio, How to Cook Without a Book, and Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.
The Joy of Cooking, hands down. I had an early printing of it, and it was damaged along with least 100 cookbooks that I had in storage. I also had an original printing of the New York Times Cookbook, which was well loved by my mother. The dog-eared pages and stains made it extra special since it was so well used.
To refresh my memory on a simple dish I haven’t made in a while, I use the Better Homes and Garden from 1976. Usually it to check I am not leaving out a critical ingredient or switching when to use baking soda or baking powder type stuff.
Not a cookbook but a "cooking book". Especially if you're starting out. Mine is *The Kitchen Companion* by Polly Klingerman, but I'm sure it's out of print. Look for something with few recipes but info on tools and their use, information on ingredients and substitutions, and techniques.
Good Housekeeping Cook Book. Has illustrations like Cook’s Magazine does. Was a great help when I was married and out on my own for the first time.
More with Less cookbooks and its sisters, Extending the Table and Simply in Season. Also, What to Cook by Arthur Schwartz
The Food Bible!
Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook has been my standby for almost 25 years. Good reliable recipes.
Paprika 3
When I lived in Amsterdam a million years and had a tiny kitchen with only a stove top. No oven, I fell in love with Charmaine Solomon's [The Complete Asian Cookbook](https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-complete-asian-cookbook_charmaine-solomon/286956/item/162548/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_everything_else_customer_acquisition&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=593719077582&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjws560BhCuARIsAHMqE0EV5lYdD0PAVUq7spuJUg7CpaMQ-DK74FSp7nJroGTXGqs8AIBDGfoaAh4CEALw_wcB#idiq=162548&edition=2893852). It had recipes from every country in east and south Asia. I still have the book and still use many of the recipes. Also, [this old book](https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/settlement-cookbook-1940-the-way-to-a-mans-heart/13878508/?resultid=3125bdba-2678-4815-afb5-57054795720d#isbn=B000UD44NG&edition=19390544) if you can find it. Just a truly great book for basic fare and the basis for many many recipes. Many years ago on a whim, I anonymously sent a copy of the last one to Daniel Rose.
The Food Lab. The level of detail and explanation helped make a lot of cooking practical for me
Nats what I reckon and Matty Matherson
Agree with most of these. My favorite is Mastering the art of French cooking because Julia child has a great voice in discussing food. But anyone who's recipes you get good results from is your best instructor. I've never loved the results from any Mario batali recipes. So I don't use them anymore. Nigella Lawson is such a great home cook and so versatile and also her discussion of a dish is both fun and passionate
Joy of Cooking is about the only cookbook that gets routinely used in my place and we have dozens of others.
Good and Cheap, Leanne Brown. Should be available as a pdf.
Zahav by Michael Solomonov I have pretty bad ADHD that makes all cooking a challenge, yet somehow I've never messed up a recipe from this book. I've served people with every kind of diet out of this book and they love it every time (vegan/vegetarian, non-dairy, low carb/keto, etc.).
Baked to Perfection by Katarina Cermelj. I got diagnosed with celiac disease a few years ago so I had to quit eating gluten. Most gluten free cookbooks seem to be centered on “healthy” recipes rather than just good food. This one is just damn good baked goods, both sweet and savory. She’s a chemist who applies the methods and knowledge to baking and filled the book with the science of gluten free baking, because sometimes it’s pretty different from gluten baking. It’s an *amazing* book and I use the fuck out of it.
Australian here. Stephanie Alexander’s The Cook’s Companion is amazing. It breaks recipes into ingredient categories. Based on classical French technique, but there is a wide variety of recipes from basics through to impress the hell out of your friends.
5 Roses "A Guide to Good Cooking." It was gifted to me by my Mother, and she copied all her "tweaks" from her own book. I cherish it.
jacques pepin "fast food my way"
"How to Cook without a Book" By Pamela Anderson. FANTASTIC read, plenty of recipes, but really highlights the formulas used to make them work. Follow the formulas, and you can experiment to your heart's content. I've learned quicker and easier ways to cook just about everything and on how to cook days ahead at a time. It is a book meant to be memorized and internalized.
YouTube!
It's such a an under utilized resource for some, one random top was to rinse Asian wide noodles after cooking to release the starch. That one tip is what many books missed and it's tough to go back
Joy of Cooking.
Agreed. It has EVERYTHING.
How to Cook Everything: Basics
Best cookbook I have is ATK. All their recipes are tested and yummy. I’ve only made one recipe that was blah. Their chicken & dumplings and lasagna are the best I’ve every eaten.
Five Roses Cookbook has been a standard in Canadian Kitchens for over 100 years. Of course a lot of baking being a flour company, but many other recipes and techniques.
"Help, My Apartment Has a Kitchen" by Kevin & Nancy Mills. Written from a very American standpoint, but has non-standard foods in there as well. Targeted at absolute beginners, which should be obvious from the name. Sprinkled throughout are little "Mom Tips" for what cut of meat to buy for a dish, or how to know when something is done.
Honestly, it’s one I put together for myself with recipes I and my family have made over the years that have turned out well. BUT of the ones that I bought or were gifted, River Road is likely my fave. I have a couple nerdy ones - recipes from video game type stuff - and a couple Irish pub cookbooks. But river road is the best of them.
The Food Lab
Where's Mom Now That I Need Her, by Betty Frandsen Where's Mom Now That I Need Her?: Surviving Away from Home https://a.co/d/0if0BkBi
Ha ha, my mom sent me to college with that book. It has saved me many times.
Salt Fat Acid Heat! Literally the best cook book.
My mom's 😉
My Mom's Betty Crocker from 1960's No good for Pizza and probably what you would call ethnic food, but good on the basics
My favourite is some ancient Watkins recipe book. It's missing a bunch of pages, but I use it most often.
I have a cookbook that’s just soups. Some recipes are complicated and some are extremely easy. I bought it at Borders when they closed down.
The Chicken Bible. Chicken is the only meat I eat so this cookbook gets a TON of use in my house.
RecipeTin Eats, Dinner. Every recipe is doable by me and I am such a bad cook. Most of the recipes are free on-line too. [https://www.recipetineats.com/cookbook/](https://www.recipetineats.com/cookbook/)
Yep, this book is great for home cooks. Every recipe is tested multiple times, nothing is too complex and easy to get ingredients.
Joy of Cooking- I’ve never had a fail from that book
For good baseline technique and recipes that focus on flavor building I always recommend “Ruhlman’s Twenty.” I still refer to his chicken stock recipe every time I make it.
Joy of Cooking, !971, is my go-to. however, the newest one has hundreds of well tested recipes from just about every cuisine in the world
The Frugal Gourmet stuff from Jeff Smith ❤️
Old Joy of Cooking
Delia Smith’s ‘How To Cook’. It starts at basics, like boiling an egg, to cakes, full meals, and how to cook a British roast dinner. I’ve had my copy since the 80s (and I think it’s actually from the late 70s) but I still use it.
Sift by Nicola Lamb. I noticed all my favourite bakeries tagging her in their posts - - she was THE common denominator for every great bakery - - and i found out she was like a baking consultant. I think bakeries go to her and say 'ok but how do i make my cookies more chewy /pastry more flaky/ whatever' and she explains how. Thats what half the book is, explaining how say gluten and water orr eggs and sugar interact under different circumstances for different effects. Teach a man to fish... The other half is recipes, but by the end you feel you can write your own. Only cookbook ive ever intentionally bought aside from Larousse Gastronomique, the cooking (well certainly Western European cooking) bible which explains every (again certainly almost every w Eur.) recipe and technique ever basically. I got a Kindle version bc it's searchable.
A 1968 version of the Canadian Living cookbook. It has everything in it and the recipes are pretty standard.
The Silver Spoon
My two Alison Roman cookbooks.
*On Food and Cooking: the Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold Mcgee* taught me so much about food, that it changed how I cook, although it is not technically a cook book.
Jaques pepin: fast food my way. Jaques pepin: MORE fast food my way.
I like the recipetin eats cookbook. I'm Australian so I'm not sure if that counts as different from your American standard fare. It has some English, french and Italian as well as Mexican, Chinese and Vietnamese. And some really excellent salads
Indian-ish for accessible Indian recipes, by Priya Krishna. It's meant to be for people who are new to cooking Indian food and only have a typical Western grocery store.
The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook. It’s got nearly everything in there and includes guides and illustrations of techniques
Salt Fat Acid Heat
I love Start Here by Sohla El-waylly. I've learned soooo much and impressed so many friends!
Sohla is so quirky and fun. Thanks for the rec.
[Mom's Cookbook](https://www.reddit.com/u/CannedDuck1906/s/fbgrvOuUif) My Mom's "My Recipe Collection: A Recipe Organizer from Better Homes and Gardens." It has every single recipe she used, with hand-written notes. It also has the original hand-written family recipes. She passed 12 years ago, and I was finally able to bring it home from my Dad and stepmother last month.
Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food.Its food you would eat regularly.